February 2013

February 24, 2013

Matt Harrison made his spring debut Sunday and it didn't go too well. In cold and windy conditions, Harrison needed 40 pitches to get through the first inning as he faced the Royals' first nine batters. He allowed four runs on six hits.

The good news, of course, is that Opening Day is more than a month away and Harrison has plenty of time left to prepare.

The Ron Washington daily media briefing was pretty chilly this morning because of a strong, cool wind. Washington, though, survived and opened things by talking about Martin Perez, who will start Monday for the Rangers. Video by Jeff Wilson.

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Kyle McClellan didn't take the step forward he had been hoping for Sunday.

McClellan had his bullpen session cut short because of soreness in his back that has kept him out of game action so far this spring.

"Frustrating," McClellan said. "It's going to take time. It's disappointing games have started and you're not in them. But we've got a lot of time. If it's still an issue in two or three weeks, I'll be concerned."

McClellan had shoulder surgery on July 10 and is still recovering from it. He said team doctors and trainers believe once he overcomes this back pain, which is near this is the final hurdle before he is good to go.

"We're on my body's time I guess," McClellan said. "I was game ready a week and a half ago, so that's encouraging. I know when it felt right, how good it felt.

"If I was right today, within a week I could be in games."

McClellan is considered one of the leading candidates for the fifth spot in the rotation, along with Martin Perez, Robbie Ross, Justin Grimm and Randy Wells. If he doesn't win that spot, he could be a bullpen piece as a long reliever.

Similar to McClellan, manager Ron Washington isn't too concerned about McClellan at this point and said it's too early to say he's falling behind the competition.

February 23, 2013

“Honestly, I feel like I’ve thrown it like crap,” Scheppers
said. “Thank God it’s February. There’s a lot more I need to work on. The way I
pitched [Friday] is not what I want to show and not what I feel what I am. I
don’t think I hit my spot one time.”

Scheppers struggled in his first Cactus League appearance,
allowing one run on three hits with one walk and one strikeout over an inning.

Scheppers is dealing with a left hamstring strain, but
didn’t use that as an excuse for his poor outing. His mechanics need work and
his velocity isn’t close to where it generally is during the regular season.

Scheppers, who can get up to 100 mph, saw an interesting
number on the radar Friday.

“I think I saw 89,” Scheppers said. “I haven’t seen
something on that lower end in a while. But my body feels good, arm feels good
and it’s still early. I’ve just got to get into a good rhythm.”

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Lance Berkman, Adrian Beltre and Joe Nathan are three of the top four players in Rangers' big-league camp in terms of service time. And all of them are taking it slow early on in spring training, which is OK with the team.

Berkman, who is dealing with a minor right calf injury and recovering from knee surgery, is scheduled to run the bases today. That's the last step before he's cleared for game action and Berkman hopes to be in the lineup on Sunday.

But he knows that's unlikely as the Rangers don't want to push him. Berkman isn't concerned about a limited spring training. He said he had a limited spring in 2006, a season in which he set career-highs in homers (45) and RBIs (136).

Berkman is slightly ahead of Beltre, who is dealing with a similar right calf injury. Beltre isn't concerned, though, as he feels 10-14 games is all he needs to be ready for the season.

"We all know spring training is too long," Beltre said.

Nathan is not dealing with an injury, but has been slow-pacing it since the start of spring. With the World Baseball Classic, spring is longer than normal this year and Nathan is about five days behind the rest of the pitchers.

Nathan threw live batting practice on Friday, and should be ready to go in games in early March.

Here are a few other injury updates:

* Tanner Scheppers is dealing with a mild left hamstring strain. He pitched on Friday, but will be given a day or two off to recover. It's not considered serious.

* Kyle McClellan has what was described as "general soreness." He is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Sunday.

* Joakim Soria has increased his bullpen sessions to 45 pitches.

* Engel Beltre is dealing with some soreness below his left shoulder blade. He made a couple long throws in Friday's game, which caused the minor injury.

February 22, 2013

Derek Holland started the Texas Rangers' first Cactus League game against the Royals on Friday afternoon at Surprise Stadium. He allowed one run on six hits with one stirkeout over three innings. He talked with reporters after his 54-pitch outing.